Abstract

The objective was to analyze the spatial food environment of the Washington, DC metropolitan area. Poorer food sources (convenience stores, fast food, and pharmacies) were the most spatially clustered. Co-Location results suggest strong positive autocorrelation among food environment establishment categories, and competitive effects between pharmacies and convenience stores. Grocery stores were present throughout the region. Changes in the retail food environment, a measure potentially important for diet-related health, occurred through the changing ratio of restaurants to fast food as well as the increased presence of convenience stores.